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Ukraine to create High Intellectual Property Court as part of ongoing judiciary reforms

On June 2, 2016 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the Parliament of Ukraine) adopted amendments to the Constitution and the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and Status of Judges": allowing the creation of specialized courts (the High Intellectual Property Court and the High Anti-Corruption Court); limiting representation before the courts to individuals licensed and admitted to practice law (“advocates”); allowing the extension of the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over Ukraine; introducing new qualification requirements for judges.

The most essential development in the IP sphere was the introduction of the High Intellectual Property Court to the general judiciary system of Ukraine, which will act as the court of first instance for IP-related disputes.

Currently, the amendments contain only basic regulations of the specialized IP court, nevertheless the reform is ongoing, and the majority of regulations are forthcoming.

Conclusion

This is very exciting news for the IP community in Ukraine and a long-awaited development. We expect that the creation of the IP court will streamline IP enforcement by brining all professional judges passionate about IP under one roof, make IP litigation more predictable and expedite the procedure for IP rights owners.